Ji-Hyun Cha
Ji-Hyun Cha was a contestant on Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 15th place. Personality Ji was extremely friendly, and got along with her teammates as a vocal leader in the kitchen. However, she sprained her ankle and quickly lost self-confidence, and didn't want to go on a downward spiral and be the cause of the red team's disillusion, to the point where she nominated herself for elimination. Ironically enough, her leaving is what caused the red team to dissipate. In the kitchen, she was one of the strongest even with a sprained ankle, and worked twice as hard than anybody else on her team. Her kind nature got her along with everyone, and was the only person to form a friendship with Lacey. Season 5 Episode 1 During the Signature Dish Challenge, Ji was the third person to have her dish judged by Ramsay. She made a miso sautéed Chilean sea bass, and it was praised for tasting great with Ramsay stating it was almost like she had 15 years’ experience rather than the four years she told him. He even urged her to show the dish to her father. When the teams were lined up, the women revealed their new team name, which was "Team Saffron". It was eventually changed to "Spice Racks" after a request from Colleen. During dinner service, Ji was on the appetizer station with Colleen. She went unnoticed during service because Colleen made far more mistakes than her. The red team won the dinner service because of Carol's strong performance as a waitress. Episode 2 During the Scallop Cleaning Challenge, Ji had four of her scallops accepted. Her team lost the challenge 35-36 and were forced to prepare a raw bar for the next service. When Lacey decided to sit out of the punishment for six hours, Ji tried to comfort her, saying the team needed her. During prep, Ji slipped on some oil, sprained her ankle, and had to see a medic. Despite her pain and fear that she would not be able to perform in service, she decided to continue prep work despite her team's concerns. She told Ramsay that she sprained her ankle, but wanted to go through service to see if she could handle it. During dinner service, Ji was on the garnish station. She suffered through pain without making any errors. When Paula came back into the kitchen, she asked her about her ankle, but she told Paula that she wanted to forget about it until the end. Her team lost the dinner service. Being on her injured feet resulted in her being a wheelchair afterwards, leaving her concerned about her fate in the competition despite her team reassuring her that they would not send her home. Ramsay even praised her courageous efforts and the fact that she did not give up despite the pain. Ji was not nominated for elimination, but when it looked as if Ramsay was about to eliminate Colleen or Lacey, she raised her hand to say she wanted to leave Hell's Kitchen, as she felt she would become a hindrance for the red team, and the reason why her team would lose challenges and services. That led Andrea to state that 50% of Ji was better than Colleen and Lacey put together. Despite that, Ramsay granted her wish, praising her talent and courage, and allowed her to keep her jacket as a symbol of her courage and pride. While leaving, Andrea pushed her wheelchair, Charlie held the door for her, and everybody in the room gave her an emotional standing ovation. She received the burning picture sequence after leaving. Ramsay's comment: "Ji showed great courage. Unfortunately, her injury got in the way of her dream. She had a chance to win this, but sadly we will never, ever know." Nomination history Trivia *She is the first Korean contestant of Hell's Kitchen. *She is the first contestant ever to voluntarily withdraw from the competition at elimination. *She is the second contestant to withdraw from the competition because of an injury, following Vanessa (Season 4). She is also the only one to date who did so without ranking in 11th place. *She is the first contestant ever who kept her jacket after elimination. *Many people thought if it wasn't for her injury, Colleen would have been eliminated instead. *After her appearance on the show, she worked at Moon Jar, in Fort Lee, and after that, she moved into management at US Foods. Quotes *"My father has lived in the restaurant industry and he had no time for his children. I wanted to show my Dad what I can do in the kitchen." *"I talked to Lacey because I figured it might help to talk to someone because it usually helps me to turn things around." *"I think Lacey is trying to like turn things around. She did seem a little more lively." *"I'm hoping for the best and that I will be able to pull through service. You know I can't let my girls down." *(To Ramsay at elimination) "Its an honour to work with you in your kitchen chef, but I like to volunteer. I feel that I'm half manpower in your kitchen chef. I want the girls/the red team to win." *(After being eliminated) "I know I could've gone all the way. It sucks to leave you know because of an injury. I'd rather be leaving because of lack of skill or something you know. Maybe it was just not meant to be." External Links * Category:Chef Category:Season 5 Category:New Jerseyans Category:Medical Exit Category:No Nominations Category:Quitters Category:15th Place